Crosslinked vinylpyrrolidone polymeric powder has been prepared by proliferous polymerization at high temperatures with vigorous agitation as described for example in copending patent application Ser. No. 057,378, filed May 6, 1993 for COLORLESS, PURIFIED, POLYMERIZABLE COMPOSITION USEFUL FOR THE PRODUCTION OF CROSSLINKED POLYVINYLPYRROLIDONE. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,089,910; 5,130,388 and 5,015,708 also describe processes for crosslinking vinyl lactam polymers. However, the powder products obtained by these processes are not amenable to molding and do not possess a foamed, cellular structure.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a crosslinked vinyl lactam polymer in the form of a cellular porous product having a high Tg (glass transition temperature) which is molded into a desired shape of high dimensional stability.
Another object of the invention is to provide a disposable shaped product having thermoinsulating properties.
Still another object is to provide an economical and commercially feasible process for preparing a molded cellular product of a crosslinked vinyl lactam polymer.
Yet another object is to provide a strong, durable, molded product having a high Tg temperature.
These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description and disclosure.